Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju said in Beijing Saturday that China will step up the construction of railways in the 2006-2010 period to address the transportation bottleneck of the economy.

Huang said at the national railways working conference that the problem of inadequate railway capacity is expected to be relieved in the coming five years.

Sources with the railways ministry said that China will not only construct more railway lines during this period, but also plan for large-scale upgrading of train speeds.

Compared with other means of transportation, Huang said, railways consume less energy but have larger capacity. As the country is facing an energy shortage, railway development should be given priority.

China said on Friday that it will input 160 billion yuan (19.7 billion US dollars) on railway construction in 2006. Huang said the country will also push the reform of railway financing.